Maple Leafs’ top forwards step up in win over Mammoth

Matias Maccelli, with a goal and an assist against his former team, William Nylander and Auston Matthews provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (8-5-1) before Matthew Knies added an empty-netter. 

Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves. Jake McCabe had two assists. Tavares and Nylander each added assists of their own for two-point nights in the Leafs’ third straight win. 

Michael Carcone, Mikhail Sergachev and Dylan Guenther replied for Utah (9-5-0), which was playing the second of a back-to-back after picking up a 2-1 overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Vitek Vanecek stopped 14 shots.

The Mammoth led 1-0 after the first period before the Leafs, who erased a three-goal deficit in Monday’s third to secure an unlikely 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins following an ugly opening 40 minutes, responded with goals from Nylander and Matthews in the second.

Sergachev then tied it late in the period before Tavares buried the go-ahead goal in the third and Maccelli added some insurance.

Tavares was honoured before the opening faceoff after becoming the 49th player in NHL history to score 500 career regular-season goals last week.

Leafs: Simon Benoit sat out with an illness, joining fellow defenceman Chris Tanev (upper-body injury) on the sidelines. Dakota Mermis took Benoit’s spot in the lineup.

Mammoth: Carcone’s goal in the first marked the ninth time Utah has opened the scoring this season, tied for the most in the NHL. 

Tavares snapped a 2-2 tie midway through the third when he backhanded his seventh goal of the campaign upstairs on Vanecek.

Matthews scored his 225th career home goal to tie Dave Keon for second most in Leafs history. Darryl Sittler holds the record with 231.

Leafs: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday. 

Mammoth: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

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